The one ingredient you must think about this year

In Sydney and Melbourne you can order a turmeric latte in any city-centre café or buy a turmeric latte pre-mix in a supermarket, to take home.

In America and Canada, where dietitians are teaching people how to make their own turmeric lattes at home, you can already buy bars and beverages that feature turmeric.

In maybe half of UK kitchens you can already find it in the pantry as a familiar ingredient in home-cooking.

And in London, Manchester and Glasgow, you can now buy turmeric yoghurt.

Soon it won’t only be India where turmeric is a “normal” and familiar food ingredient.

While the mass-market isn’t yet ready, the most health-aware 20% of the population certainly is. The online discussion about turmeric’s benefits – from inflammation fighting to cancer protection and better-looking skin – is surging.

And don’t disparage the science: turmeric is one of the most-researched food ingredients. Turmeric has excellent “naturally functional” credentials – an advantage that’s already proven to be the most powerful driver of growth, from almonds to blueberries to coconut.

Waitrose is a 120 year-old, UK-wide supermarket chain – with a reputation for high quality – which is owned jointly by its employees and a charitable trust, making it more attractive than Wal-Mart to shoppers with a strong moral compass.

The retailer has debuted the UK’s first yoghurt to feature turmeric. It may even by the first in Europe.

Waitrose has always done what America’s Whole Foods does – delivering the wares of small, creative producers and healthy, natural foods (and at much more competitive prices than Whole Foods).

The company is good at sensing trends, so it’s newest yoghurt line-up under its own brand has a vegetable theme.

They come in four flavours, including:

Kiwi, Avocado and Matcha Tea

Pineapple, Butternut Squash and Turmeric

Carrot, Mango and Guarana

The range contains significantly less sugar than fruit yoghurts – which consumers seem to be turning away from – with 11.4g of sugar per 125g serve (that’s about 9% sugar) in the Butternut Squash and Turmeric variant.

Is there enough turmeric in one 125g pot to make a difference to your health? Probably not. But that’s not the point.

Turmeric is trendy, adds vibrant colour to the finished product – and it’s a nice health halo for the ever-growing number of people who want to get more into their diet.

Any company in the western world that doesn’t have a product featuring turmeric in its new product development plans – or imagines that it doesn’t need to because “people in our country will never eat that” – should think again. Turmeric is coming.